Fact Check: Bellator 105

By: Brian KnappOct 23, 2013

Will
Brooks will look to exact some vengeance in the lightweight
semifinals. | Photo: Will Fox/Sherdog.com

Nothing stirs a man quite like revenge.

Will
Brooks will meet Saad Awad in
the Bellator
MMA Season 9 lightweight tournament semifinals at Bellator
105 on Friday at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M.
Their rematch arrives eight months after Awad handed Brooks the
first loss of his career with a stinging 43-second knockout. To the
victor goes a spot in the tournament final, opposite either
Ricardo
Tirloni or Alexander
Sarnavskiy.

Awad has won seven of his past eight bouts. The 30-year-old former
Gladiator Challenge champion last fought at Bellator 101 in
September, when he submitted “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 alum
Martin
Stapleton with a first-round rear-naked choke at the Moda
Center in Portland, Ore. Spawned by the Millennia MMA camp, Awad
has secured 13 of his 15 professional victories by knockout,
technical knockout or submission.

With the Brooks-Awad rematch as the centerpiece, here are 10 facts
surrounding Bellator 105:

FACT 1: Tirloni’s first defeat as a professional
came at the hands of Benson
Henderson, who went on to capture lightweight gold in the UFC
and WEC. Tapped out by a “Smooth” guillotine choke, it remains the
lone submission loss of the Brazilian’s career.

FACT 2: Sarnavskiy has finished 17 opponents in
the first round, five of them in less than a minute.

FACT 3: As a professional mixed martial artist,
kickboxer and boxer, heavyweight Siala-Mou
Siliga has competed in nine different countries: the United
States, Romania, Germany, Japan, Australia, Russia, South Korea,
the Netherlands and Latvia.

FACT 4: Six of Ron Sparks’
10 career bouts -- four of his wins and both of his losses -- have
concluded within 60 seconds.

FACT 5: British striker Eugene
Fadiora is the only man to have defeated Brad Scott
outside of the UFC, as he struck “The Ultimate Fighter: The
Smashes” finalist into submission at a Spartan Fight Challenge
event in October 2009.

FACT 6: Journeyman Eddie
Larrea is 0-6 in fights that reach the judges.

FACT 7:
American Kickboxing Academy bantamweight Shawn Bunch
was a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Edinboro Univeristy in
Pennsylvania, where he compiled a 133-24 career record. His 133
wins still rank fifth on the school’s all-time list, five ahead of
longtime UFC welterweight contender Josh
Koscheck.

FACT 8:Jesse Brock
was the last man to face current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious
Johnson before he signed with Zuffa. He was felled by a
first-round head kick from “Mighty Mouse” at an Alaska Fighting
Championship show in February 2010.